My research addresses families with special attention to the role of coparenting, fathering, and divorce. I am currently conducting studies on:
1) how families from diverse cultural experiences adjust to divorce2) a program evaluation of the Kids' Turn divorcing family intervention program
3) how adolescents socially construct their relationships with their fathers
4) how divorce and eating practices are related

·Social and Emotional Development in Childhood and Adolescence·Interparental Conflict, Co-Parenting Processes, and Child Psychopathology·Father-Child Relationship as Buffer between Negative Events and Adjustment·Intervention with Families in Crisis and with Families of Divorce·Contextual Influences on Parenting Behavior

Effects and meaning of fathers for adolescents

This project was funded by NIMH for a three-wave longitudinal study of 392 families at two sites (Phoenix, AZ and Riverside, CA) to explore the “meaning of fatherhood” across the adolescent transition. The sample is evenly divided among two father types (birth-father and stepfather) and ethnicities (Mexican American and European American). The study includes multi-agent, multi-method reporting for most constructs. For more information on the PAYS project please go to our website.

Juang, L. P., & Cookston, J. T. (2009a). A longitudinal study of family obligation among Chinese American adolescents: Links to depressive symptoms and family conflict.Journal of Family Psychology, 23(3), 396-404. full text

Cookston, J. T., Braver, S. L., Griffin, W., deLuse, S. R., & Miles, J. C. (2007). Effects of the Dads for Life intervention on interparental conflict and co-parenting in the two years after divorce. Family Processes, 46(1), 123-137. Full text

Braver, S.L., Cookston, J. T., & Cohen, B.R. (2002). Experiences of family law attorneys regarding current issues in family law: Results of a survey conducted at a bar association conference. Family Relations, 51, 325-334. Full text